Muffled voices talked through a thick set of wooden doors. Flexing his muscles, Greystoke opened the door as quiet as he could. As soon as it was wide enough for her to fit through, Elena rushed through the opening into the room. 

Fire-light licked the cobblestone walls of the room, flickering shadows over the grim-set faces of the dozen or so people gathered around the octagonal stone table which took up over a third of the room's space. 

Elena flinched as the ancient hinges for the door creaked as Greystoke continued to open it wide enough for him to slip through as well. Despite her anxieties, not a single person in the room turned to look their way, completely focused on the stone table. Except for a small ledge of wood, the rest of the table was lowered and hand-sculpted into a map of the entire western half of the realm. Sculpted from bits of wood and stone in the center of it lay a city of small houses with a limestone castle which represented the capital of the Western Kingdom, Cainabel. To the right of the miniature capital was a shallow hill with a stone carved castle that sat along the edge of a forest. 

Beyond the strip of forest, eight lakes formed a semi-circular barrier against the charred black remainder of the map. It looked as if that portion of the table had been burnt intentionally. The sight gave Elena gooseflesh on both of her arms. 

Around the table she saw both familiar and unfamiliar faces. Among the familiar was Larkspur, Robin and even Tawny. 

"Twenty were spotted at the Waxing Crescent yesterday at midnight," Larkspur announced as she pointed to the right-facing crescent-shaped lake on the far left. Her finger slid over to another lake that was an almost-complete circle on the right side. "But there were sightings of movement at the Waning Gibbous little over an hour ago." 

Larkspur's hand gripped the leather-wrapped pommel of the sword at her side. Beside her, a scrawny young man whose height only reached her shoulders, leaned forward to see where she was pointing. On his right, nodding with his hand on his chin, was a grim-faced man with black thorned vines winding up the length of both his arms.  The two axe-wielding warriors that had dragged Robin away the day prior had become a wall of muscle on the left side of the room, standing side-by-side with their arms crossed.

Moon Night stood, her upper half leaning over the map as her hand gripped the edge of the table. She looked up at Robin, who was standing on the other side of the war table then glided her glance up to the window that was at the top of the wall. Sunlight shone through the small, round window into the room below.  

Robin nodded in confirmation, "It's the first time they've come out while the sun is up." 

The tip of Moon Night's finger tapped against the wooden edge of the table as she looked down at the map in deep thought. 

"What has come out?" Elena question blurted out of her, unable to stand the unanswered questions that had been racking up while she'd stood in this room. All of the eyes in the room turned toward her. All except Moon Night, whose ice-cold eyes had stayed fixed on the map. 

Robin made his way around the table while taking the time to shoot a glance back toward his sovereign. He looked back at Elena and gave her a heavy sigh. 

"You don't need to know right now, princess." He reached out to lead her out of the room but was blocked by Greystoke, who now stood in between the two of them, using his body as a shield. Robin pulled out one of the many daggers he'd had attached to the front of his vest. He held it up to Greystoke's chin, giving him a sideways scowl that somehow could still be misconstrued as a smile from certain angles. 

Robin tilted his head to the side so that he could see Elena behind Greystoke. "Call off your dog, princess." He shifted his dagger from one hand to the other, pointing it at the eastern princess. 

"I'm not leaving until you tell me." Elena told him as firmly as she could. 

Moon Night turned away from the table. As she walked to the door and past her savant, she reached up and slipped the dagger from his hand. By the time Robin had realized that Moon had taken his dagger, his sovereign was already out of the door. 

"Moonie?" He called before he ran after her, everything else forgotten. Larkspur gaze held the empty frame of the door then, with a punch to the table, started to walk out after them. 

Elena watched as Greystoke also followed them out, still incensed by his altercation with Robin. Not wanting to be left behind, Elena ran after Greystoke. By the time she managed to catch up, they had reached the forest's perimeter, she found both Greystoke and Larkspur observing Robin yelling at his sovereign at the top of his lungs. 

"Are you insane!" He shouted. 

Underneath the blazing sun, bright red stood out against the pale skin of Moon Night as her blood spilt onto the grass beneath her. Robin's dagger was in her other hand. A chill set into Elena's spine at the sight of the blood. The equally cursed and precious blood continued to drip from Moon Night's forearm as she glared at her savant. 

What could drive a prideful sovereign like Moon Night to use her blood like this?

Robin stomped his foot onto the ground, his arms swinging as he yelled at her. 

"After everything you've been through- that we've been through together- you're still doing shit like this?! There are other ways to get them all in one place!" 

When he took a step toward her, she stepped an equal distance back.  Blood dripped from her arm in droves as she did. Robin groaned and grabbed fistfuls of his own hair. His chest heaved as he struggled to control himself, but his hands started to burn, the skin on his palms turning red like it was a sword being heated in a kiln. Not letting her get away, he leaped toward her and grabbed her wrist. 

Elena watched with bated breath as Moon flinched at the touch, her skin hissing as Robin's fire-hot palm cauterized her bleeding wound. Only once the blood stopped flowing did Robin release his sovereign from his grasp.

"No, He hung his head over hers and bit down his voice in a desperate attempt to not shout now that the distance between them was closed, "Not like this. There is another way. We can find another way." 

Moon Night glared back at Robin, her words left unspoken, but her message clear: "There is no other way." 

From the depths of the forest came a groaning. It sounded as if someone had been held underneath tar, burbling and popping while it groaned. A limb made of gelatinous grey goop fell from the shadows into the light. It hit the grass with a plopping sound that instigated an instant surge of nausea. The nausea was exacerbated by the scent of something sickeningly sweet mixed with months old garbage which wafted from it. As it came into the light, the creature broke of branches of the trees which disappeared into the grey vat of rotten flesh as they were swallowed. 

Underneath the shining sun, it was an amalgamation of dozens of bodies fused together into a mass of grey sludge. Elena prayed to the good gods of the realm as the creature released a gurgling screech which pierced her soul. Twenty voices screeched in agony all at once, in overlapping disonance. It was a sound that would strike fear into anyone who heard it. 

Robin reacted first, his voice clear as a chiming church bell as it reverberated with his command, "It's here! Weapons at the ready! You, guard!" He pointed to Greystoke. "Get our sovereigns out of here, keep them safe at any cost! Larkspur, with me!" 

"What is that?" Elena gasped, unable to take her eyes off the creature.

Her question was left unanswered as she felt Greystoke's hand on her back. Tears welled in her eyes as she saw his shadows extend and pull Moon Night to his side in seconds. Sword unsheathed, a sovereign in each arm, Greystoke rushed them toward the castle. 

Elena once again looked back at the creature. 

In front of it stood Robin. Robin pulled out a pair of daggers from his vest and lowered them to his sides. Red hot fire spurted through the centers of the daggers. The fire grew, first extending forward, then vertically past the dagger and transforming into a bow of red flames. 

Releasing a breath, Robin shot the dagger-turned-arrow. The aflamed arrow propelled itself toward the creature. The arrow sunk into the grey vat of the monster's flesh. 

After watching his arrow get swallowed, Robin pointed the finger of his empty hand to where his dagger-arrow had been eaten and whistled. From inside its flesh, an orange glow enveloped the creature, where an abnormal shaped organ beat like a pulsing heart. 

Robn shouted for Larkspur, who was already in action before he had. Leaping over the creature, her long blade landed accurate and fatal, stabbing through the beating organ of the creature. The monster released another twenty-folded gurgling screech before it collapsed onto the ground- still oozing grey bubbling liquid. 

Another screech was heard in the distance. Robin and Larkspur both disappeared into the forest as Greystoke pulled the two sovereigns into the safety of the castle walls. 

Greystoke did not stop until all three of them were inside the sitting room which divided their bedchambers. Elena ripped herself from his grip and stormed over to Moon Night who had settled herself into the left side of the couch. 

"What was that!" She screamed. 

Moon stayed quiet and stared up toward the window, which had a raven-sized hole in the lower half of its glass pane. Because of it, Elena's glance slid to Greystoke, whose eye did not meet hers. He was also silent, watching Moon Night instead of the window. 

Outside of the window, there was shouting commands to get to the forest. That there were more of them. In the distance there was a distinct whistling sound followed by a booming thud.

"That- that thing wasn't human or sovereign. What was it?" Elena went to Moon and grabbed her hands, cupping them in her own. Moon's hands were so cold. The princess begged her, her voice choking. "Tell me, please. Are- are they going to be okay? Moon, please." 

Moon Night did not answer her. She would not tear her gaze away from the window for even for a moment. 

Elena, feeling hopeless, lowered her head onto Moon's knees. 

"Please." She whimpered, almost whispering. The shadow at Greystoke's feet stretched out from beneath him. It darkened, thick bubbles appearing and popping from within the shadow.  From the darkness three ravens emerged. They cawed, wings flapping as they flew out the broken window. A few of their black feathers drifted soundlessly to the stone floor. 

It was not until the sun had set and the first quarter moon rose into the sky that Greystoke's ravens returned. As soon as they flew back into his shadow, the door slammed open, and Robin marched through covered head-to-toe in grey colored muck.

Elena jumped up from where she had been sitting and holding Moon Night's hands all night.

"You're alive!" 

"Pshh. Of course I am, angel. What do you take me for?" He spotted Moon, his gaze lingering for a while before he traipsed across the room to the chair next to her. Robin slumped down in the chair, splaying his feet out in front of him and leaning the crook of his neck over the back of the chair so that he could only see the ceiling. He was exhausted, but clearly not exhausted enough to not flirt with the first person he saw. 

Elena looked around the near the door, "Where's Larkspur?" 

"Lark went to go take a bath." He lifted his shirt and sniffed it, grimacing after he did. "I probably should too. Shit's disgusting." 

Elena sat back down beside Moon. Moon seemed to be scanning Robin for any sign of injury underneath the grey goop that slathered his skin and clothes. 

"What were those things?" 

Robin sighed, realizing there was no point in hiding it anymore. "They're sluaghs."

"What?" 

He pronounced the word again slowly. "Slew-aghs. They are what I will become if Moonie ever dies." He said, eliciting a kick out of Moon Night and also the first bit of emotion Elena had seen on her face over the past several hours beside distraught worry. Robin ignored the kick and pointed at Greystoke, "Or what pretty guard over there will be when you die, princess, should he not find another sovereign to give him blood." 

Elena glanced at Greystoke, seeing if his knew anything about this. He gave her a small shrug that signified that he too had no idea what Robin was talking about. 

She decided to push forward with her questions, "Sluaghs are savants?" 

Robin hummed in confirmation, never lifting his head from the couch, "To be more precise, sluaghs are savants whose sovereigns died before they did."

"You become those things?" 

"Yep," Robin said, almost cheerful, "Some think it's a god's curse. Claiming that since it is our duty to protect our sovereigns, for them to die before us is blasphemy. Others think it's because of the blood connection; When the source of the blood dies and our power dies with them, the stagnant blood left within us becomes toxic- or something like that." He waved his hand above his chest in a half-hearted flourish. 

"That's... terrible." Elena said. 

Robin just shrugged. "It can all be avoided if you find another sovereign or if you k- ow!" 

He did not get to finish before Moon kicked him again, harder this time. The pain of the kick got him to sit up. "Anyways, because of how they become that way, sluaghs are attracted to the scent of sovereign blood. But they don't know how to stop eating once they get it. The sovereign dies, thus creating more sluaghs. So do not-" He pointed his finger at Elena this time. "try to fight a sluagh. That's our job. Run as fast as you can in the other direction and call me or pretty guard here." He gestured between him and Greystoke with his thumb. 

Robin stood up, a sticky tether of grey goo detaching from the chair with him. He fought the urge to gag as he announced that he was going to take a bath and then left. Moon stood up to follow after him but was interrupted as Elena grabbed her hand and stopped her. 

Moon Night looked back at her, her eyebrows scrunched together. 

Gathering courage, Elena took a shaky breath in, "Can you sleep with me tonight?" 

Moon opened her mouth a little, glancing in the direction where Robin had left, then closed it and nodded. Still holding her hand, Elena stood up from the couch and together they both entered the main bedroom. 

Their hands only separated once they reached the bed, each of them splitting off to one side. Elena on the right, Moon on the left. After removing the outer layers of her clothing, Elena got in bed and rearranged to comforter so that it'd be easier for Moon to get in. She looked up and watched Moon's back as she removed her scarf and outer layers of clothing.

She swallowed the gasp that was on her lips as Moon Night turned around to face her. 

On her skin a white line traveled from the center of her throat down past the hem of her underclothing. The scar was as thick as her largest finger, the skin looked stretched, like it had been stitched back together by a silkworm. Elena held her breath. She pulled together all of the anger and frustration and hatred she had felt toward Moon Night these past few days and felt it leave her when she breathed out. The emptiness left behind was filled by realization.

It wasn't that Moon Night did not talk, it was that she could not. 

More questions bubbled up inside of Elena like a burp trying to escape, none of which Moon could answer for her. 

 Moon noticed Elena's gaze on her scar and gave her a smile. The smile was soft and forgiving. The ice Elena had seen in her eyes when they had first met was gone. Now that she could see them for what they truly were, they were not blue at all, but grey. Grey like the clouds that gathered before a storm, swirling and bunching up into soft clusters of dim silver. 

Elena let out another breath and Moon slipped herself into the blankets. The two of them laid beside each other, facing each other, the tips of their knees touching. 

She took the time to really look at Moon's face, to see what else she had missed. Her nose, her eyelashes, her lips. By the time she had realized what she was doing, her heart had skipped in her chest a little. Those were a sovereigns nose, a sovereigns lips. 

Moon Night was the only other sovereign she had ever met. It occurred to Elena that perhaps Moon was the only one that could understand her.

"Moon," Elena asked, "can I tell you something?" 

Moon nodded, her cheeks brushing against the scratchy sheets. Elena gulped and let out another shaky breath before telling her, "I'm afraid." 

She waited, trying to find the courage to speak and found it Moon's steady grey eyes. 

"I'm afraid of myself, of being a sovereign. I am terrified of the power that runs through my blood. I was already afraid of locking someone into being my slave for my entire lifetime and now, with the sluaghs, I'm afraid of condemning them to a living hell when I die." 

She stammered through the words as tears started to force their way through her barriers. "Greystoke always said that he made the choice, that he was the one who wanted to be my savant. But I know it was my father who forced him to make that decision. I was to- too young to know that he- if he- actually wanted it. I just.. gave it to him. My blood." 

Elena strained as she started to sob, her words choked out by her sobbing. She felt herself break as she let everything that she had kept inside her for years loose. She cried out over a decade's worth of fear, uncertainty and insecurities. 

Once she had calmed down a little, Moon lifted her arm, brushing Elena's hair out of her face behind her ear. Her hand lingered on Elena's face as she stared into her eyes. Leaning forward, she placed her forehead against Elena's, her cool skin against Elena's heated skin. 

It was strange how, without a single sound, Moon Night had managed to speak gentle words of comfort to her through a simple touch. 

The two of them held that position, heads and knees touching together, until they both fell asleep. 

Chapter Word Count: 3,241
Total Word Count: 7,849